The Paradox of the Daleks
by carlgluftgmail.com
Summary: The War Doctor must stop the Daleks from executing a universe-wide paradox while trying to save a young soldier behind enemy lines.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The old, bearded man in the worn leather coat grasped the edge of the circular control console with one hand and desperately threw switches with the other. The domed control room shook and shuddered while its honeycombed, glowing roundels on its pure white walls dimmed and brightened.

"Hold on, old girl!" Cried the old man in a raspy voice. "We're hitting some temporal turbulence. We've got to execute an emergency rematerialization."

A cacophony echoed through the room as the glass column in the middle of the console rose and fell. With a sudden lurch that knocked the old man off of his feet, the column stopped and all was silent.

"We've made it!" Cried the old man as he got to his feet and patted the console. "Let's see what the source of that temporal disturbance was"

Leaving through the blue, wooden door in a section of the walls, the old man appeared outside of an old, battered police box. He was in a forest and a clearing could be seen not far away from where his capsule materialized.

At first touching the nearest tree, then knocking on it, he said, "Petrified. A petrified forest. For God's sakes, it can't be!"

He walked into the clearing, and there below the plateau the forest was upon, was an enormous city of metal towers, sipres and done."

"It is," he sighed. "It's Skaro. I'm behind enemy lines."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It had been a long time since the old man had been to that part of Skaro. But dispute the lifetimes that had gone by since he was last at the petrified forest, he found the descent to the city fairly quickly.

At the base of the plateau, he spotted a figure half crawling, half running from the city. Before he could find cover, he glimpse the red armor the approaching figure was wearing. A stone's throw away, the armoured woman stood up straight, and incredulously stared at the old man.

"I'm real enough, soldier," said the old man, still cautiously keeping his distance. "What are you doing this far behind enemy lines?"

"I could ask the same of you, sir," said the woman, really not much more than a girl. "Sorry, sir.. I didn't mean to be impertinent. I've just escaped."

"Escaped? Since when do the Daleks take prisoners?"

"I was with my platoon, and are bowship hit some kind of temporal… I don't know, sir. I'm not a pilot. I'm barely out of boot camp."

"You look barely out of nursery school. Your just a child! You should be having fun ruining other students' science experiments at the Academy, not fighting in a war. Are your other platoon members still in the city?"

"No, sir. I think I was the only survivor. They did things to me…", she said, letting out a sob.

"There's no tears in war, soldier," the old man said. Then the stern look on his face melted away, and his shoulders sank. He put a hand on her shoulder, and with the other dried her tears with a handkerchief he produced from his leather coat's pocket. "What am I saying? There is little more than tears in war. It's just about all I have now, except for my TARDIS."

"You have a capsule? We can leave!"

"We're behind enemy lines, soldier. That's a rare opportunity. We have to do what damage we can while we are here. We especially have to find the source of this temporal anomaly and stop it. I'm sorry, but we can't go home yet."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Is that where you exited the city?" Asked the old man, indicating an odd-shaped, semicircular hatch in the side of one of the towers at the edge of the city.

"That's the one," replied the soldier.

"It wasn't guarded?"

"No, sir. I never would have had a chance if there was even one Dalek there."

"I don't see any Daleks in sight. That's odd."

"Do you think it's a trap, sir?"

"No doubt about it, soldier."

"You still want to enter the city?"

"I most certainly do. The level of temporal disturbance here could rip apart the whole web of time."

"I'm scared, sir," said the soldier as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"That makes two of us," sighed the old man. "What did they do to your in there."

"There was a cell filled with cables. They attached the cables to me, and, well, it was like I was being unwound."

"Unwound?"

"It was like my whole life was like a cloth, and they were pulling it apart one stand at a time."

"That's why they captured you, and only you. The Daleks have found out how to siphon artron energy from a Time Lord."

"But why me in particular, sir."

"Because you are but a child. You are a freshly minted Time Lord just brimming over with artron energy. I need to find that cell and examine those cables. I can't find the way by myself. I need you to help me. I know you are scared, and the last place in all of time and space you want to be is back in that city. But I can't stop the Daleks without you. Will you show me the way?"

"Yes, sir. I won't let you down."

"There's a good girl. Come on."

The two Time Lords sprinted from their hiding place to the door. A soon as they approached it, the old man waved his hands in front of a circular plate next to the door. The door slid up, and they entered the corridor within.

"No Daleks," said the old man. "That's odd, indeed"

"It's a trap, sir, and we're walking right into it."

"Oh, I know! I do this all the time, even before the Time War. Lead the way, soldier."

She led the old man down numerous twisting corridors and bleak, unfurnished rooms. Often, they had to double back. After an hour or so, they descended a tube-shaped lift, and she said, "The cell is the fourth door on the right as we come out. Do you have an extra gun?"

"Extra gun?" Laughed the old man. "I don't even have one gun. I've no use for them."

"You're him, aren't you?" Asked the soldier, taking a step backwards into the lift as if frightened. "You're the Doctor of War, aren't you?"

"Don't call me that."

"They say the first thing you notice about the Doctor of War…"

"I said, don't call me that!"

"... Is that he is unarmed. It's usually the last thing his enemies notice, as well."

"We're waisting time. Take me to the cell, soldier," said the Doctor quite sternly.

"Yes, sir," she said softly, with fear in her eyes. She went to the fourth door in the right, and as the door slid upwards, a domed topped machine, with a quivering eyestalk, menacing gun barrel, and suction cupped limb immediately rolled out.

"Daleks!" Cried the Doctor


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"I believe you were expecting us?" Asked the Doctor.

One Dalek slid out into the corridor. Two Daleks behind it moved apart in the cell. From between them, a shriveled up man in a black tunic riding in a device identical to the sphere studded base of the Daleks' shells moved forward. Eyeless sockets dominated the heavily scarred face, and a nest of wires sat upon his bald head. A mechanical arm moved a switch on a control panel in front of the deformed and scared man.

"Davros!" Gasped the Doctor. "What are you doing here? You were swallowed up by the Nightmare Child at the Gates of Elysium in the first year of the war. I know, because I was there. I would have rescued you. But it was simply another trap to get me where you wanted me. And for what? Just too gloat."

"My Daleks rescued me," said Davros in a grating, mechanical voice.

"The Nightmare Child fell into the Gates of Elysium. There's no way out of those antimatter cascades, unless… the temporal anomaly. Of course! That's why you were draining this child's artron energy. It was all to rescue you, wasn't it?"

"Put them in the cell." Ordered Davros.

"Wait!" Shouted the Doctor. Supportingly, the Daleks stopped. "Why aren't you gloating, Davros? That's highly unlike you. No, it'ss not your at all."

"Take them into the cell!" Screamed Davros.

"Wait! I've just one more thing left to say before you unwind our biodata, and suck is dry."

"What is it?"

"Run!"

Without a thought or a moment's hesitation, the soldier bolted after the Doctor as they ran down the corridors. They barely dodged the Daleks' blaster salvo as they sprinted on, taking every turn and branching corridor they could. Finally, the Doctor signaled her to stop. He was stooped over trying to catch his breath. "The war had really taken a toll on me. Let's skip in here you catch our breath.

The Doctor opened a door, and he and the soldier stepped into a gallery that overlooked a massive chamber. It was filled with columns of Daleks, as far as the eye could see.

"Look how many of them there are!" Gasped the soldier.

"This far exceeds the War Council's estimate of the Dalek forces," said the Doctor. "After all these centuries of fighting, there's more of them than when the war began. It's more than just Davros they brought back."

"Quite right, Doctor," said Davros as he slid into the room. "Every Dalek that ever was has returned. Daleks shall never know death again."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Davros, you're creating a paradox on a universal scale!" Shouted the Doctor. "You want the Daleks to be the only life in the universe, but if you do this, there won't be a universe to live in."

"Nonsense, Doctor," said Davros. "Once we conquer Gallery, we will balance your Eye of Harmony against ours and …"

"What do you mean, _your's_?" Demanded the soldier as she took a step forward. "The Daleks have their own Eye of Harmony?"

"The Daleks created their own Eye of Harmony a long time ago," explained the Doctor. "It was sometime after the Etra Prime incident and that deal with Shakespeare being removed from Earth history. What a mess! You didn't know that, soldier? They didn't they brief you on that? What do they teach you kids these days?"

"They taught me not to be afraid of an unarmed, cripple," snarled the soldier as she lurched forward and grabbed Davros by the throat.

As soon as her hands closed about his neck, bolts of electricity jumped fourth from an electronic eye in the midst of Davros' head wires. The soldier was thrown up against the rail of the gallery. Jumping to get feet, she grabbed him by the neck again. Once again, she was repelled by the electric bolts.

"Stand down, soldier. Have you forgotten that we have several legions of Daleks below us?"

Backing away from Davros, she turned towards the Doctor, and saw Daleks levitating up to the gallery, one at a time.

"Run!" Shouted the Doctor as he took her hand and led her out the door.

He led her down corridor after corridor till they could run no more. Popping into a room, they both collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.

Spotting tears on her face again, the Doctor asked, "Are you alright?"

"My arms burn," she said between sobs as she rolled up the red sleeves of her uniform. Blackened burns ran up both of her forearms. "Some soldier I am."

"For God's sake, child," said the Doctor as he scooted closer to her and drew a plastic case from inside his coat pocket. "You're seriously wounded."

From the case, the Doctor removed two rolls of cloth bandages. As he unrolled it, the soldier noticed each roll had colored stripes on them. As he applied the bandages to each arm, he explained, "I took these from my TARDIS' sick bay. They're medicated. The medication is in the stripes. As your body absorbs the medication, the stripes will disappear. Once they are all gone, you can remove them. You'll be fully healed. Probably not as sophisticated as something you would find in a Bowship's sick bay, but it does the trick. My TARDIS is an old type forty. It's been out of date for about twelve millennia now."

"My arms stopped burning," she said with a chuckle. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Don't call me that," he said wincing. The title seemed to cause him pain rather than anger.

"I'm sorry. I forgot. But you did make me better."

"I haven't had much of an opportunity to do that these last past centuries."

The door slid open, and to their sunrise, a Humanoid in brown robes stood outside. He looked like a talk, bald human, but his face had odd creases on it. "Doctor, Davros requires your presence."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"That's not a Dalek," said the soldier.

"Very observant of you," said the man. "But nevertheless, I am Davros' servant. You will come with me."

"Are you aware that the paradox your master is causing shall rip apart all of time and space?" Asked the Doctor. "As my observant, young friend has pointed out, you are not a Dalek. You have no place in their new creation. You too will be exterminated."

"My loyalty to Davros is complete."

"Well, your powers of observation aren't. Look!"

While the Doctor was keeping him occupied as he spoke, the soldier had slipped out of the room. The robed figure looked around just as she ran out. As he turned back to the Doctor, he had already sprinted around him and was out the door, escaping with the soldier.

The soldier was considering slowing down to let the Doctor catch up when the Doctor ran past her. "Come on, soldier! In here!"

They rested in another empty room completely identical with all the others on that level of the city. The soldier looked at her bandages and saw that all the color stripes had disappeared. She removed them, and was delighted to see her arms were all healed up. There wasn't even the slightest hint of scarring on them. "My arms are all healed! Thank you, Doc… I mean, sir."

"You're a quick healer," observed the Doctor as he examined her arms.

"You look so tired, and you sound so fierce," she said as she raised her arms, and held his lined face in her hands. "But your eyes are so kind, and I think I see a hint of laughter in them."

The door of the room suddenly opened.

"What a tender moment," said Davros as he and two Daleks entered the room. "You can run, but do you think there is any place to hide here on Skaro."

"No," said the Doctor wearily as he rose to his feet. "No. there isn't. Alright, Davros. I surrender."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The Doctor and the soldier were led into the cell with the cables. Each of the serpentine cables extruded a bright light from their ends.

"Attach the cables to the female," ordered Davros.

"No!" roared the Doctor. "Let this soldier go. You can have me instead. I've been all over time and space. I have a unique supply of artron energy. she's only a child."

"You are old, Doctor'" said Davros. "She is brimming with life. She has enough life to regenerate every Dalek that ever was once her energy is amplified by the Eye."

"The Eye of Harmony," muttered the Doctor as he grabbed one of the cables and stared into it. With a scream, he dropped the cable and clutched at his right eye.

"Your eye!" cried the soldier as she ran over to the Doctor. "You could have burnt out your retinas."

"Retinas?" the Doctor asked absently, as if he was trying to remember a long lost memory.

"Attach her now!" Ordered Davros.

"I obey," responded a Dalek. Instantly, the cables came to life, and attached to her. Her arms flew out to their sides as if she was crucified to an invisible cross. A bluish glow began to cover her head and hands.

"The Eye!" Hissed the Doctor as he slapped his head. "Think, you silly, old fool! Retinas.. of course. Three life times ago, I changed the key to the Eye of Harmony on Gallifrey to a human retinal pattern, to keep it secure from invaders. My last life, I regenerated with human retinas. If I only had them now… That's right! I can. Sorry, soldier, but I need just a tiny amount of your energy."

As the Doctor reached out towards the soldier, who by then was engulfed in blue flames, he pinched off a bit of the energy, and rubbed it into his eyes. All the while, Davros and the Daleks were screaming like complete lunatics, announcing the regeneration of the Daleks.

"I needed just enough to alter the retinas," said the Doctor. As he removed his hands from his eyes, they briefly glowed blue, and then returned to normal. He pulled a cable loose from the soldier, and gazed into it again.

Sparks rained from the ceiling. The cables all pulled loose of their victim, and began to thrash wildly about.

"What is happening?" Demanded Davros.

"Your Eye of Harmony is opening!" Laughed the Doctor. "Wherever you have it hid, it's opening. Your Eye may be a separate entity from the one on Gallifrey, but the energy is the same, thus quantumly entangled. I opened it with a human retinal pattern. Now, it will suck this entire paradox into itself. And it may take you, and all of Skaro with it. You can stand here, dodging cables and sparks, and try to exterminate us, or you can leave and try to close the Eye before it has you for dinner."

"The Eye must be closed!" Screamed Davros as he and the Daleks retreated out of the chamber.

"Come on, soldier," said the Doctor as he put his arm around her, and half dragged her out. "We need to get to the TARDIS just in case Davros fails to close the Eye."

"I'm feeling stronger," said the soldier as she began to walk on her own.

"The open Eye is undoing the paradox. Your energy is returning to you. So, run!"

Taking her by the hand, he led her to the nearby lift. The Daleks they saw were in too much of a panick to stop them. In minutes they were out of the city, running into the petrified forest upon the plateau.

As they called into the Console Room of the TARDIS, the Doctor began to throw switches, punch keys and spin dials. As the lights within the central column began to rude and fall, the Doctor shouted, "Hand on to something. The collapsing paradox is stirring up a great deal of turbulence in the Vortex."

She grabbed hold of one of the coral-like columns that surrounded the console dias, and hung on for dear life as the TARDIS pitched and spun about. Miraculously, the Doctor did not lose his footing, or his hold of the console. After several minutes that felt like an eternity, the turbulence ended.

"Where are we going?" Asked the soldier.

"Back to Galifrey," he replied. "You need some R&R after all you've been through."

"But I want to go with your," she said. "An officer needs a soldier."

"I'm not an officer," he replied a bit sharply, "nor am i a soldier. I'm a Warrior. I fight alone. I answer to no one, and I do not require anyone to answer to me. My one goal is the end this War. I require neither a soldier, nor a companion to accomplish that."

"But you're all alone," she said with a tear in her eye. "Let me fight with you."

"You're only a child. You deserve better. If you travel with me, you'll become a monster."

"What do you mean?" She pleaded.

"I fight in the heart of battle, treading through the blood of the innocent," he explained, the kindness returning to his eyes. "Where only the monstrous survive. I'll not let you become the monster that I am. You're going home."


End file.
